"Agh!"

Cougarpaw leaped to his paws, panting. His fur was ruffled and blood was splattered on the side of his fur. Silverpaw was staring at him, eyes concerned. That blood... Did I carry it through my dream? He quickly looked over at Shadowwhisk- Shadowpaw, who was fidgeting, clawing at the air. He must be fighting Whisperpaw.

"Cougarpaw... That blood appeared on your fur. Your face, it's clawed up. And so is Shadowpaw's," Silverpaw meowed. The other apprentices were asleep - thankfully.

"Silverpaw, I have to tell you something," Cougarpaw murmured. He couldn't hold anything in anymore. "Silverpaw, I-" Suddenly, Shadowpaw leaped up, panting. He stared at Cougarpaw and yowled, crashing into him.

"You!" Shadowpaw snarled. Silverpaw wasn't even helping!

Shadowpaw raked his claws down his face, biting into his neck and throwing him across the den. Cougarpaw hit the wall and the wind was knocked out of him. He hit the ground, and blood trickled out of his jaws.

"N-No!" Cougarpaw stuttered, watching the black cat pad up to him. He smirked, fangs dripping with blood. He lifted his unsheathed paw before Cougarpaw yowled, leaping up. He was back in the apprentices' den, in his nest. Silverpaw, Darkpaw, Lightpaw, and Ashpaw woke up, looking around fearfully. Tigerpaw looked at Cougarpaw. "What is it? Are there cats out there?" He glanced outside of the den, worried. Shadowpaw awoke and said nothing, wiping the blood off of his muzzle and pelt.

"Cougarpaw, what's up?" Silverpaw meowed, cocking her head at him. His mind trailed back to everything that happened. Cypressfog! No! She's dead...

"Yeah, and... Why is there blood on you?" Tigerpaw inquired, pointing at his pelt.

"I... I don't know," Cougarpaw lied, quickly lapping up the salty blood off of his pelt. He cringed at the taste. Dear StarClan, did I really just experience that?

"Hey, Tigerpaw," Cougarpaw piped up to the older apprentice, "Have you seen a cat named Whisperpaw in RiverClan?"

"No, I haven't. Why?" Tigerpaw replied. Cougarpaw narrowed his eyes. Whisperpaw had looked older than him. "Well, I don't even know the other Clan leader's names. What are they?"

"Oh! WindClan is Larchstar," Lightpaw replied, and Cougarpaw huffed at the tom. I didn't ask you.

"ShadowClan is Sharkstar," Shadowpaw spoke, flicking his tail and staring at Cougarpaw.

"And RiverClan is Crocodilestar," Tigerpaw replied, finally. "Who is this 'Whisperpaw'? I haven't ever seen her at a gathering."

"I haven't either, and I've been to almost all gatherings!" Ashpaw boasted. Cougarpaw rolled his eyes but chuckled a little. He looked out of the den and noticed the moon was pretty low in the sky, and a dapple of colors spread over the sky.

"It's almost dawn," Shadowpaw meowed as he sat beside Cougarpaw. He saw a flash of something in Shadowpaw's eyes... Regret? Sympathy? He didn't really care. Any cat that murdered deserved to go to the Dark Forest!

"Yeah, I see that," Cougarpaw replied cockily, returning to his grumpy self. He exited the den and flicked his tail. Claw marks scorched his fur and he winced as he took a step. Clawflank spotted him and padded over. "You're up early." He noticed his limp and scratches. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm fine," Cougarpaw stammered. Clawflank sighed. "Maybe you should stay out of training today."

"No!" Cougarpaw exclaimed, then he lowered his voice. "No... I want to do something."

"Only if you tell me what's going on. Then we can go hunting," Clawflank replied, flicking an ear. Cougarpaw looked down and nodded, following his mentor out of camp. They entered a clearing and Clawflank sat down, staring at his apprentice. "So?"

"The Dark Forest visited me... They attacked me." That's all I need to say. It's believable enough, and it's quite true. They took me against my own will! A huffed gasp echoed from Clawflank. "The Dark Forest? They're back?" His eyes widened. "Cougarpaw, you can't listen to them! They are just trying to manipulate-"

"Don't worry." Cougarpaw cut his mentor off with a paw. "They just attacked me, that's it."

"They still should have no right to do that!" Clawflank spat. His eyes softened at Cougarpaw. "I'm sorry that happened. And..." He sighed. "This is the right time for me to tell you." Clawflank closed his eyes. "Cougarpaw, not all things come easy. You should know that. I understand how much you've been through. But that shouldn't be stopping you from trying your best to become a warrior." Cougarpaw opened his jaws to retaliate but was cut off by Clawflank speaking again.

"Your Clanmates are avoiding you because you push everyone away. Fawnfur may be gone, but she's still watching you from StarClan. I believe in you, so please, keep on trying, or you won't have any friends. Loosen up. I know you can do it - do it for me, your mother, Blazefur, and so many others."

"I don't have that many others-"

"Do you know how many cats care about you? They want to help you but you refuse! Silverpaw wants to help you, Lightpaw wants to help you, and all the other apprentices!" Not all of them... "So please... Do it for me. For Blazefur. For Fawnfur." Clawflank's pleading gaze got to the best of Cougarpaw and he sighed. He had to think. He didn't want to be mean, but something had overcome him.

"You're right. I've been rude. I've been snappy. I've been everything a mentor would hate in his apprentice. And I'm going to try and change. Maybe Blazefur will pay some more attention to me. He just... Seems to avoid me now, like everyone else." Cougarpaw smiled a little. "Thank you, Clawflank." He moved a little and winced from a cut on his side, although it thankfully wasn't deep.

"Do you want to visit the medicine den?" Clawflank asked.

"No, I think I'm okay. Let's go hunting now." Clawflank sighed but laughed. "Alright, hunting. That's it. Don't get in any fights with rabid kittypets, though!" Cougarpaw let out a chuckle. "Alright, then, let's go! I don't really know how to hunt though."

"Well, it's my job to show you," Clawflank purred. "We're in a good enough place for me to show you. Okay, so here's what you do."

Clawflank crouched down, close to the ground, his tail hovering just above the dirt. He bunched his muscles and leaped, as if he were leaping on prey.

"It's quite easy once you get the hang of it. Just make sure your tail never sticks up or swishes, or the prey will see you. You try." Cougarpaw nodded and slunk into the same position Clawflank had been in. He made sure not to move his tail and keep it just above the ground, and he slowly moved forward, then leaped.

"Great job!" Clawflank exclaimed. "Exceptionally well for your first time."

"Thanks!" Cougarpaw purred. He noticed that was honestly the first time he had purred in a really long time.

"Alright, now let's hunt some real prey." Clawflank smiled and flicked his tail, beckoning for Cougarpaw to follow. The tan tom nodded and jogged after his mentor. Clawflank stopped him with his tail, and Cougarpaw dug his claws into the ground to stop himself. "I smell a squirrel," Clawflank whispered. "Hey! See it up ahead?" Cougarpaw squinted his eyes and noticed the dark ginger color of the squirrel. "I want you to try and catch that. I'll stay back and watch."

Cougarpaw nodded eagerly and crouched into the same position. He stalked forward, but accidentally stepped on a leaf. The leaf cracked and the squirrel dashed off. Cougarpaw raised his head and muttered a curse.

"Hey, it's your first time," Clawflank meowed, a little amused. "You're pretty competitive. How about you look for some prey yourself?"

Cougarpaw thought this would be best so he padded forward. He raised his head and sniffed the air, but all the scents mingled together. "I can't smell much," Cougarpaw meowed, turning to face his mentor. He chuckled. "Maybe I'm not just quite ready to look for prey myself."

"I guessed that, but I wanted to see what you thought. Follow me, I smell something over here." Cougarpaw nodded eagerly and followed his mentor. He could pick up the faint trace of a squirrel, since he'd smelled it earlier. "Hey! I smell a squirrel! Maybe it's the same one from earlier."

Clawflank raised his muzzle and sniffed the air. "You're right. It is the same squirrel! Nice work, Cougarpaw." Cougarpaw beamed a smile.

"Alright, since you smelled it, how about you try to go find it?" Clawflank advised.

"Okay." Cougarpaw padded forward. He raised his head like he had seen his mentor do so many times, and caught the scent of something different. He knew the smells of the forest, but this smelled so much... Darker. He couldn't really explain it. He shook it off as his mind messing with him and continued on. Cougarpaw stopped when he noticed the same squirrel he had tried to catch earlier bolting away from a nearby bush. Cougarpaw knew he had no time to slither into his hunting crouch, so he jerked his paws forward to follow. Cougarpaw ran after it as fast as he could, and he felt the adrenaline race through his body. The tan apprentice could see the squirrel coming closer into sight and he leaped, crushing the squirrel beneath his paws. He didn't yet know how to kill it, so he was thankful his paws had done the work.

Cougarpaw thanked StarClan for the prey and picked it up. But when he turned around he was greeted by a set of claws, which pinned him down. "What are you doing in ShadowClan territory?" The cat snarled.

"S-S-Sorry!" Cougarpaw barely managed to stutter out. The cat was dark gray, with black tabby stripes and amber eyes. He tried to push the older apprentice off but failed. The gray tabby tom smirked and proceed to unsheathe his claws.

"Hey!" Clawflank thankfully arrived in time to save Cougarpaw's life, snarling and hissing at the apprentice. The ShadowClan tom leaped back from Cougarpaw, staring blindly at Clawflank.

"Clawflank! You never told me we were close to ShadowClan territory," Cougarpaw meowed, gathering himself and leaping to his paws. He fled to his mentor and turned to the ShadowClan apprentice.

"Exactly. ShadowClan and ThunderClan are interfered by a Thunderpath. To be in ShadowClan territory, you would have to run past the Thunderpath. Basically, Gravelpaw is in ThunderClan territory." Gravelpaw, whom his name apparently was, narrowed his eyes at Clawflank. He quickly attempted to snatch up the squirrel but Clawflank leaped forward, stopping Gravelpaw.

"I'm reporting you at the gathering," Clawflank snarled. "And get on your own territory!" Gravelpaw hissed at Clawflankf fur fluffing up, and sped away. Clawflank scoffed and looked at the squirrel.

"Sorry, Cougarpaw. You okay? And nice catch, by the way!" Clawflank meowed, allowing Cougarpaw to pick up his squirrel. Cougarpaw nodded happily and followed his mentor back to camp.

---

They arrived shortly after, the sun still low in the sky. It was still morning, and some cats were just beginning to wake. Clawflank told Greenstar about the mouse-brained ShadowClan apprentice, but Greenstar huffed a sigh and returned to his den. Cougarpaw frowned when he noticed Greenstar's lack of energy, and watched Wildjay and Clawflank exchange glances.

Cougarpaw boasted about his catch to Blazefur, who returned in a purr. "You must be feeling better, then?" His father asked.

"Yep! I'm sorry I've been so... Grumpy." Cougarpaw cat-hugged Blazefur and turned to see Silverpaw and Darkpaw talking.

"Hey guys," Cougarpaw tried to be as friendly as possible as he padded over. Lightpaw noticed his friendliness and cocked his head, staying where he was beside his mentor.

"Woah! Cougarpaw... Is that you?" Silverpaw inquired. "It can't be."

"What happened? You can't just be this happy so suddenly," Darkpaw nodded as she agreed with her friend.

"I just... Am..." Cougarpaw smiled and purred. He sat down beside his denmates and continued to talk.

Maybe things would actually turn out for the better.

OH MY STARCLAN GUYSSSSS

I AM SO SORRY!!

THE LEVEL OR SORRINESS I HAVE IS OVER 100!!!!

I have been so busy with school, and I have had no time to work on this book. I've also been unhappy with this chapter, so I've been re-writing it over and over.

I am dedicating this chapter to WattyWarriors , mainly because in their book review they included me and totally boosted my confidence! I really thank them for that! And I can't actually dedicate the chapter to you guys, I don't have my computer... Sorry! XD

So I really do hope you guys enjoy this longer chapter, I worked pretty hard on it. I hope you guys forgive me for being so inactive. Please vote and comment what you thought, and may StarClan light your path! ✨